Silicon Lasers and the Photonic Component Ecosystem: Unlocking the Potential of Large-Scale Integration
- hfongbok
- Sep 25
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 30
On 5th May 2025, the Quantum Sensing Centre hosted our first Tech Talk, inviting Asst. Prof Brian Sia from NTU School of Electrical & Electronics Engineering to share his expertise on integrated photonics in a talk titled “Silicon Lasers and the Photonic Component Ecosystem: Unlocking the Potential of Large-Scale Integration”.
Asst Prof Brian Sia is the corresponding author for papers in journals such as Nature Communications and his work has been featured in numerous media outlets such as MIT News. He also serves as the reviewer for Advanced Optical Materials, Journal of Lightwave Technology, ACS Photonics, Optics Express/Letters and JOSA B. He is also one of the Principal Investigators in QSC. Dr Brian’s research is in the field of developing novel integrated lasers and photonic integrated circuits.
Integrated photonic technologies have rapidly evolved in recent years, impacting numerous applications in areas such as fibre-optic telecommunications, medical devices, chemical analysis, quantum technologies, LIDAR for automotive industry, and hardware for training AI models.
The talk focused on passive optical components like switches and multiplexers, which are simpler compared to integrated silicon lasers, the foundation of any photonic system. His research group’s low-noise, wavelength-tunable silicon lasers span various wavebands, achieving sub-kilohertz laser linewidths and output powers over 30 milliwatts. Advanced designs with silicon photonics and III-V mode-locked lasers show reduced RF linewidth and enhanced noise suppression.
During his talk, Dr Brian introduced an innovative chip-scale framework that unifies terahertz and microwave domains, allowing megahertz-level processing with conventional electronics through advanced laser architectures and dispersion control, paving the way for scalable future photonic systems.
Afterwards, there was a technical discussion between Dr Brian and the QSC team on the usage of PICs towards developing compact subsystems for quantum sensors.
Thank you to everyone who came down to support the first Tech Talk hosted in QSC. If you have any queries regarding Tech Talks, please contact us at qsc@dso.org.sg.